The daydream is over. Fox has finally got their script together for the long-in-the-works remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' and may have nabbed their star: Ben Stiller. According to Deadline, the film has been in development for ages and had attracted such names as Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen and directors Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Gore Verbinski. But the script was never right and only recently did the studio put Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness') on the case. His version attracted Stiller and the talks are on. Now they need a director for the late fall start.

Remember Joe Eszterhas? You may be too young to recall the bad boy screenwriter, but you'll surely know his films: 'Basic Instinct,' Flashdance,' 'Jagged Edge' and 'Showgirls.' Well, Eszterhas has returned to Hollywood with a new sexual thriller, 'Lust' -- described as a cross between 'Basic Instinct' and 'Fatal Attraction' -- about the sexual hijinks of a 30-year old married beauty who is in love with an older Miami-based fashion magazine publisher but gets seduced by a younger charming playboy on a business trip to Los Angeles. The playboy's Russian assistant -- who is in love with him -- secretly videotapes the new lovers having sex to show it to her husband. And then things really get out of hand. Eszterhas left Hollywood after a series of flops, moving to Cleveland to write books and live the family life. But he's back now, and has teamed with producer Scott Steindorff on this new film, which the pair will try to sell at Cannes in May. The duo are aiming for a late summer start. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Warner Bros.' 'The Great Gatsby' just got another boost: Deadline reports that Ben Affleck is in talks to play the role of Tom Buchanan in the Baz Luhrmann-directed 3D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic. Already on board are Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan

Hailee Steinfeld is moving from the Old West to Old Italy. The Oscar-nominated youngster (for 'True Grit') is in negotiations to star as Juliet in a new Romeo and Juliet movie directed by Carlo Carlie ('Flight of the Innocent') from a script by Julian Fellowes ('Gosford Park,' 'The Tourist'). The movie, said to be budgeted around $15 million, will shoot in Italy later this spring. [THR]

Short Takes:
'Californication' star Madeline Zima will star in the British psychological thriller 'Storage,' about a young woman who discovers a terrifying secret when she becomes trapped in an underground storage facility with a group of strangers [THR] ... Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who wrote and directed '28 Weeks Later,' has been tapped by Relativity Media to helm their remake of the 1994 hit 'The Crow' [TheWrap]... Deadline reports that Sony Pictures Classics is close to grabbing U.S. distribution rights to Roman Polanski's latest film, 'God of Carnage,' based on Yasmina Reza's Tony-winning play about two sets of parents who meet after their kids brawl in the schoolyard, and get along worse than the kids; Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly star.

Lionsgate has released a trailer for 'Warrior,' starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton in an action-drama about the youngest son (Hardy) of an alcoholic former boxer (Nolte) who returns home from the army, gets trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament, and ends up on a collision course with his older brother (Edgerton). It's kind of 'The Wrestler' meets 'The Fighter." See what you think. The film opens September 9.